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Street Hassle

category dublin | summit mobilisations | press release author Tuesday April 20, 2004 15:07author by D - Wizzumauthor email comrade at imapunk dot com Report this post to the editors

On being hassled by the jack booted boys in blue for simply trying to advertise Mayday.

In the meantime let me start this contribution with a poem by Pat Ingolsby.

CONVERSATION WITH A GARDA IN
GRAFTON STREET

A couple of years back I paused in Grafton Street
and leaned against a litter bin to listen to a busker.

A large garda appeared beside me.

“Are you selling anything that you shouldn’t be selling?”
he said.

“I’m just enjoying the sunshine and the music”

“Yeah but are you selling anything that you shouldn’t
be selling”

“I’m simply enjoying the music.”

PAUSE

“You’re wearing an awful lot of jewellery all the same.”

“That is none of your business” I said.

“I was just making conversation” he said.

Lovely.



I myself have enjoyed a number of conversations over the last week with the Gardaí. One conversation was with two undercover boys, tubs and Crockett, we shall call them who caught me red handed putting a sticker about may day on a lamppost. I was informed that it was a ‘serious offence’ which I found unlikely given number of crimes that these boys have to solve.

Crockett asked me if I had a problem with the gards and I rapidly responded “NO.” To respond yes to this question would be comparable to ticking the yes box to the question “Are you an international terrorist?” on the USA landing form. Not a good idea.
Then more recently I was meeting up with some friends at the Central bank and walked away from them when I saw the squad car pull up in front of us. Lo and behold if another boy in blue didn’t appear in front of me, unfolding his notebook and looking for my name and address. My response this time was a little less controlled. “What the fuck is this about? Have I broken a law, hanging outside the Central bank with friends….Every Saturday you could arrest a hundred teenagers if that’s against the law.” I was informed to be nice, he was only doing his job, and that I was ‘loitering.’ I love when they invoke some ancient brit law to hassle, you. I refused to give them my date of birth, as they want that for their Pulse database of dangerous people who disseminate ideas against Capitalism. You do no have to give them your date of birth.

Cop no. 2 was busy taking the names of my friends when I re-joined them. I told him there were two cyclists having a conversation over there and would he care to take their names also. He gave the same line; I’m just doing my job. Well I’m sick of that fucking line. You make decisions in your life or you’re a dead fish, going with the flow. You DECIDE to become a police man and that means you put yourself on a side. Your job is to hassle people who are trying to orgainse peaceful protests. Your job is to intimidate activists and people from abroad. Your job is to remove your numbers and batter people if you so wish. Your job is to break picket lines in strikes so that scabs can get though. I’ve been political and working for over twelve years in Dublin and the only time I’ve ever seen violence on a demo was when the cops lost the run of themselves. DECIDE on a better job boy, and let people get on with organising peaceful protests.

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   "But you know people get all emotional...     Mrs Doyle    Tue Apr 20, 2004 15:29 
   You call that a poem??     Fastidious    Tue Apr 20, 2004 16:08 
   getalife     trollspotter    Tue Apr 20, 2004 16:13 
   To Trollspotter     Chekov    Tue Apr 20, 2004 16:46 
   garda have a hard task     M45    Tue Apr 20, 2004 16:52 
   Gardaí have a harder task...     Mrs Doyle    Tue Apr 20, 2004 17:07 
   Why give even your name?     Eoin Dubsky    Tue Apr 20, 2004 17:23 
   Is trollspotter a troll?     Phuq Hedd    Tue Apr 20, 2004 18:54 
   Donuts on strike     Starstruck    Tue Apr 20, 2004 19:03 
 10   Remember the blue flu     blu flu    Tue Apr 20, 2004 19:40 
 11   Waster     Own or Eoin?    Tue Apr 20, 2004 22:07 
 12   Giving details     T    Wed Apr 21, 2004 01:31 
 13   More Hassle     James    Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:45 
 14   come on.     me    Wed Apr 21, 2004 12:36 
 15   Minister and Oireachtas and Church     baby joseph grew up into Iosaf the wise    Wed Apr 21, 2004 13:01 
 16   So Earnest, So Just     Idiot    Wed Apr 21, 2004 13:57 
 17   Re: Pat Ingolsby.     Noise Hack    Wed Apr 21, 2004 16:38 
 18   Everyone reading this should call the cops . . .     spam    Wed Apr 21, 2004 17:23 
 19   More harassment tonight     Badman    Wed Apr 21, 2004 22:44 
 20   Looking at this rationally...     comparison    Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:44 
 21   Police state     Joe    Thu Apr 22, 2004 13:03 
 22   Why not give your dob     Ann on a mouse    Thu Apr 22, 2004 20:06 
 23   Gardai     John    Mon Apr 26, 2004 06:39 


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